Two Months In: Umbria 2022

I just wrapped up my work in the studio here in Umbria. I'm finished with the larger oil on canvas pieces for this season. I'll be rolling up 14 canvases with 22 paintings in all.

It's good to have the studio clean and ready for the next visit.

We are still here for almost another month, and I'll concentrate on doing more plein-air pieces. I've done a few, but the weather hasn't been in my favor. It's going to get real nice this week, so I look forward to getting out into the countryside soon.

I've done some pencil drawings, too. I've added watercolor or gouache to these small works.

We've been to see quite a bit of art, including the Venice Biennale.

All in all, it's been a very productive trip for me. The weather kept me in the studio, and that's a good thing.

Below, just lots of photos of my time here, this Spring 2022.

Plein-air

Works On Paper

Studio Work

Viewing Art

 

I look forward to showing the paintings in the Gallery when we return. Stay tuned.

Studio Work, Umbria 2022

As the world spins

It's a new season painting in the Italian studio.

I am soaking up as much inspiration as I can,

 while trying to express my feelings in color and form.

As usual, my goal is the search for beauty. 

(which is not a difficult chore here in Umbria)

Beauty has been a constant theme and a personal exploration

that has driven me for many years.

When we first arrive to our place here, 

I inspect the studio and make a list of what supplies I will need to start painting.

Janelle and I then make a train trip to Florence to purchase everything needed to begin work. There are a couple of good art supply stores in Florence that I like.

There are also other shops I visit for supplies, including a small but wonderful place in Cortona, 

and also a classic one in Rome.

Once I have most of what I need, the work begins.

Usually the first large canvas is an immediate response to the landscape around me.

 There is a percolation of feelings that I have to distill and formulate.

It's a dance of feelings. The act of painting. A sensitive dance.

Sometimes you step on your partner's toes...but you keep on dancing to the music.

The studio work will turn more abstract ...

Inspired by the tension of the ongoing drought here in our area.

 

Ok, now it's time to start painting on

the biggest canvas.

Three coats of gesso on raw canvas.

One has to remember that I was formally trained in the abstract expressionist tradition.

I will work on large and smaller canvases in the studio, 

as well as going out and painting the landscape 'en plein air', when the weather is nice.

I enjoy my work, and the challenge that it brings.

Artist at work. 

Some smaller works on canvas, in response to the landscape around me.

Many are in response to walks and drives around our immediate area.

The large canvas, almost finished.

I will be proud to show this in our gallery in California 

when we return.

Painting Outdoors In Umbria/Small Works

The weather has changed this week, cold, windy and wet, but we arrived to really nice weather a couple of weeks ago.

I was able to get out and do some plein-air painting and also some drawing. I like doing the drawings. I can take them out later and add color with pencils or gouache.

I feel so lucky to have so many beautiful and inspiring places to set up and paint outdoors here. There are gravel and dirt roads that make it easy to get away from it all, and just paint.

Many of these smaller works will inform my large abstract pieces later on. 

That is my intention and hope. 

The large paintings rarely come from a void. Though the plein-air paintings and drawings

seem small, they are an essential element in my process.

Going into the fields is a favorite for me. I can carry 
everything I need to paint.

 

I'm painting from a bench here in the garden where we stay.
Sam looks on...

I can draw anywhere, even from the parked car, if the weather gets too nasty. So far, it's been nice enough to just draw as Janelle and I take one of our many walks around the area. I can just stop and get to work.

When I am drawing, I take lots of notes on color, shadow, sun direction, etc. I use this information to finish the piece later.

Adding color later on in the day.

The simplicity of this landscape is everything.

I'm working more on this trip than our trip in autumn 2021. I feel better about my work, and am excited about the pieces I've finished. Both the outdoor painting and studio painting has been pretty well.

More Work...

I have been making art most days here, which is a good thing. It takes me awhile to get situated, but this trip I started working right away.

I'm either in the studio, working on larger canvases, or out plein-air painting when the weather is nice.

I've also been enjoying pencil drawing, which I later add color to. I'm working with gouache on the drawings.

This past week has been sunny and warm, so painting outdoors has been perfect.

Oil on panel, working in the fields below town.

I changed the sky after this shot, but the trees stayed the same.

Working in the studio-

In process.

Am I finished?

The drawings are done while I am out walking with Janelle, or when we stop to just enjoy a view. 

Later, I fill in the color-usually with a glass of wine near by in the piazza.

We took a trip on the train to Florence this past week. I needed canvas, paint and other supplies. We were also excited to see a large exhibition of Donatello sculptures, which was inspiring. 

 

I only pulled my mask down for 2 seconds, honest.

I feel like I'm already working better and more than our trip here in autumn 2021. I look forward to seeing what comes out next.